PCG commandant’s term should not be extended – DOJ

MANILA, Philippines —   The three-year term of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan should no longer be extended even through reappointment or temporary designation by President Marcos, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has declared.

“It is the opinion of this Department that Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan’s three-year maximum term as PCG Commandant, which began on 19 October 2023, expires on 19 October 2026 and may not be extended through executive action,” the three-page DOJ Legal Opinion No. 23 issued on Sept. 17 stated.

The agency came up with its opinion following a request from Presidential Management Staff Secretary Elaine Masukat about “whether the three-year term of the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard may be extended.”

Citing Republic Act 9993 that created the PCG in 2009 and amended by RA 12122, the opinion signed by Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida maintains “the statutory language is clear… (and the) three-year period is expressly prescribed as the ‘maximum term.’ ”

It added the PCG law’s provision on the commandant’s three-year maximum term of office cannot be “circumvented through another form of executive action, such as reappointment.”

Moreover, a possible temporary designation “to address a vacancy in accordance with the law… cannot be invoked to allow Admiral Gavan to continue occupying beyond the three-year maximum prescribed” by the PCG law.